


The Longest Way

by oOAchilliaOo



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-09
Packaged: 2018-05-05 21:10:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5390528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oOAchilliaOo/pseuds/oOAchilliaOo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidan adds to his ever growing list of 'stupid things to do in front of Shepard'</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Longest Way

“Uh… Commander? Maybe… Maybe I could drive this time?” he asked tentatively, just as she reached for the Mako’s driver’s side door.

She paused, dropping her arm and turning to face him.

“Er... Why?” she asked, a look of open confusion plastered across her face.

“Well...uh...” He wondered how on earth he was going to say what he had to say withoutmaking her completely lose it. “It’s just that this is  _technically_  a civilian area, and uh... The road runs along a cliff face with a thousand foot drop?” He was completely unable to prevent the pleading note in his voice.

Her eyes narrowed.

 Oh, god. 

 “And?” she said, rather pointedly. 

“And er... your driving style is... is… Just a little… er…” He paused, searching for the right word. 

“Completely and utterly insane,” Williams chimed in. “Ma’am.” She was standing just to the side of them and looking, as she always did, cheerful and utterly at ease. Despite the Geth. And the explosion. And the smear of blood across her forehead. 

“Right...” he agreed, slowly. “Which is suited to dodging Thresher Maws, and driving over mountains maybe, but perhaps not so good for  _following the road_ and avoiding the aforementioned thousand foot drop?” 

She said nothing, merely folded her arms across her chest and levelled him with an even stare. 

Oh, god, she wasn’t going to agree. They were going to die. Perhaps if he was really, really lucky he might at least be able to tell her ‘I told you so’ on the long long  _long_  fall to their deaths. 

“You know, Commander, if he drives, you can sit on the big gun,” Ash pointed out. 

Shepard’s face immediately lit up, her eyes sparkling with glee and her trademark smirk curling her mouth. 

God, she was pretty when she was contemplating complete and utter destruction. It was an expression he had regrettably become all too familiar with in the recent months. 

“Good point, chief,” she said, stepping away from the door. “Consider yourself designated driver Alenko.” She clapped him on the shoulder and moved round to the passenger side. 

He allowed himself to breathe a small sigh of relief and shot Ashley a grateful look over his shoulder. “Thank you,” he mouthed at her. 

She grinned her shit-eating grin at him. “You’re welcome,” she mouthed back. 

The ride to the hot labs was, of course, absolutely littered with Geth. Shepard hastily disposed of them with an inordinate amount of joy. If he was lucky, she might be developing a fondness for the gun rather than the wheel. This would dramatically reduce the chances of him puking in his helmet while on a mission. Thankfully. 

But eventually, the road became quiet and she dropped back into the seat beside, him idly flipping the safety catch on her pistol off and on. 

“How about some music?” She reached forwards to turn the radio on before anyone could respond. 

“Hells yeah,” Ashley replied even as a guitar chord blasted through. “Just call this the part-y vehicle.” 

“I did have a party in a Mako once,” Shepard said, turning in her seat to face the chief. “Years ago…” 

Kaidan tuned out their banter as they continued to swap party stories from their pasts. He didn’t really have any, none that he’d be willing to talk about in front of Shepard anyway, and keeping the wildly unstable vehicle on the suddenly much narrower road was taking more than a little of his concentration. 

In the background, the music changed. The heavy power chords faded into something softer. He found himself absentmindedly nodding along with the beat, humming along under his breath.

 

_If all the fun’s in getting there_

_Then baby I have got a plan_

_Let’s hit the road, c’mon let’s go_

_Let’s take the longest way we can_

 

_My heart’s restless but it’s true_

_When it comes to lovin’ you_

_And that ain’t never gonna change no matter where we are._  

 

The sudden silence from the other passengers alerted him that something was wrong. It took a few moments but the realisation slowly crested in his mind. He had been  _singing along._  

 Oh, super. 

Brilliant, just,  _brilliant._  

Because, yes, what he  _really_ needed was more ways to embarrass himself in front of  _Shepard._  

Inwardly, he grimaced and, despite his better judgement, he cast a fugitive glance to the side. They were both staring at him, with complementary looks of utter delight on their faces. Ashley was once again wearing her shit-eating grin and Shepard, her trademark smirk. 

Great. That meant he was really for it. 

“Thinking about any girl in particular, LT?” Ashley asked after a moment. “Any particular damsel you’re thinking of whisking off into the sunset?”

_Yes_

“Not particularly, chief,” he replied, determinedly keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

“Shame.” He could practically hear the laughter she was holding back. “You could whisk her off into the sunset, and then serenade her under the moonlight. Very  _romantic._ ”

He sighed. This wasn’t going to go away any time soon. He risked another glance to his side, catching Shepard’s sparkling eyes.

“You wanna weigh in on this?” He was a glutton for punishment apparently, though it would be worth it if it teased one of her rare real smiles from her.

Her lips twitched, it was close enough.

“Country music?” she questioned dryly, one eyebrow raised. “Really?”

He shrugged. “I like it. Deal with it.”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to make some kind of witty retort, but at just that moment the radar started beeping.

“Oh, look at that!” Relief flooded through him. “More Geth.”

She snorted and shot him a look that clearly said this wasn’t over, before climbing up into the gun turret.

“Ok, team,” she said. “To work.”

The hail of gunfire drowned out the music still playing on the radio. He took the opportunity to subtly turn it off. Still, somehow he knew they weren’t done mocking him.

After all, were they ever? 


End file.
